This is an amazing fruit sauce that goes well savory meats, desserts, or just a crusty loaf of French bread. It also makes your kitchen smell amazing.
Ingredients:
2 pears
1 cup raspberries or strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups dessert wine (an inexpensive ruby port or a muscat)
1 ounce lemon juice
2 tbs butter
1 tsp allspice
Preparation
Peel, core, and chop the pears. Wash and de-stem the berries, and cut them into halves or quarters.
In a sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat, then add the pears and allspice, and allow the pears to soften in the butter for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the berries and lemon juice and let them stew with the pears for 5 minutes.
A note on the wine... Using a ruby port will give this a stronger, richer flavor, better suited for savory meats, while a muscat wine (like E&J Moscato) produces a more all-purpose sauce.
Add the wine and bring to a simmering boil. Add the sugar, and bring back to a simmering boil.
Let simmer for approximately 20 minutes (which will boil off most of the alcohol and reduce it to a thicker consistency) then hit it with a stick blender to puree the fruit. You do not need to completely puree the fruit. Some people like it a bit chunkier, some a bit smoother. But the more the fruit is pureed, the thicker the consistency of the overall sauce.
Remove from heat and allow 5-10 minutes to cool. You can then spoon over meats or cakes, or dish into bowls for dipping. Refrigerate the leftover sauce and serve the next morning on pancakes or French toast, or with crusty French bread, as a breakfast treat.
In terms of meats, I've found this works very well with pork and duck.
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Great post! I love this recipe. I have tried the sauce with French toast - which by the way when you make French toast try a little orange juice in the mix. It sounds strange but we picked this up from a roadside kitchen diner in Canada and they gave me the tip. When working in the kitchen if anyone needs any advice on furniture, e.g. doors, worktops handles etc we are happy to help at tradehandles, you will also find some useful tips. All the best, Jo
Handle Girl,
I've seen that orange juice in the French Toast batter tip too. Found it on Food Network many moons ago when I made my wife French toast for her birthday back when we were engaged. We don't make French Toast anymore now that we have a child with an egg allergy in the house.
Let me add that for truly good French Toast, you want to get an unsliced loaf of bread from a bakery a few days before so you can let it get a little stale and you can cut thick slices. Great Harvest has a cinnamon bread that's great for this.